Life Lessons on the Importance of Slow

The Wild Atlantic Way – Cnoc Fola

I planned to take you to an island this week but the ferry never left the pier due to rain, rain and more rain…

Feeling rather downhearted, I pondered on a suitable alternative, and after a trip to the local library followed by a coffee and slice of cake, the sun came out.

So we are now travelling along a small stretch of a 2500km Irish tourist initiative known as “The Wild Atlantic Way.”

First stop is a view over the islands to the west, including the island I had planned to visit. Furthest away lies Arranmore, followed by Cruit, Owey, Gola…

The Islands

Next we travel towards Cnoc Fola meaning “Hill of Blood,” which is “a rocky headland that turns rusty red at sunset,” as written on the signs at this “Discovery Point” for the Wild Atlantic Way.

Cnoc Fola

Looking backwards, the islands are still visible:

The Islands as seen from Cnoc Fola

Moving on, we pass lots of peat bogs with another headland called Horn Head in the distance.

Peat Bogs

We can also see Tory Island. It lies 9 miles off the coast, and is the most remote inhabited island off the coast of Ireland. St Colmcille founded a monastery on Tory in the 6th century.

Although the island is often pounded by the mighty Atlantic, it still has a thriving community.

Tory Island

A ferry takes visitors to Tory from the pier at Magheraroarty. A stunning beach runs alongside the pier.

Magheraroarty

Behind the beach, lies an inlet with a view of the flat top of Muckish Mountain on the horizon.

Muckish Mountain

A traditional thatched cottage makes another ideal photo opportunity. Sadly, there are very few remaining.

Thatched Cottage

The journey from home would normally take me a total of 30 minutes. However, I enjoyed taking extra time to breathe in the views.

I made the most of my day trip and followed the road beyond to the town of Falcarragh, where I visited a stunning garden called Cluain na dTor which means “Meadow of Shrubs”. I shall post pictures of that visit next week.

Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Brigid Gallagher takes us on trip up the Wild Atlantic Way.. there are many islands of the west coast of Ireland and some are inhabited.. Quite blustery and they get the first of the transatlantic weather but amazing places to visit with lots of wild life.. Join Brigid as she heads up the coast with some photos of the islands…

Ohhhh Daisies, the photographs are breath-taking! Each one has a story going on inside the frame. Each photograph ‘speaks’ to me. I love them. Thank you so much for sharing them.

If I were to choose my most favourite photo it would have to be the traditional thatched cottage. I could live happily, for the rest of my life, in a cottage like that. How sad it is that there are so few of them left now. I wonder why that is? What is taking those cottages from the land I wonder. Maybe they need to have protection orders over them, so that the remaining cottages have to be kept in a good state of repair – and a ruling that they can’t be knocked down in order to be replaced with something ultra modern.

Thank you so much for these wonderful photographs and the education that we all get from reading your fabulous blog. Have a blessed day Daisies. ~ Cobs. x 💚

I am glad you liked this post Cobs. That wee cottage sits acroos the road from the sea. I think people want modern houses with central heating… I would happily live in a little thatched cottage like this one. 😊

They never grew up in the times we did, Daisies. I remember getting up on a cold winter morning and having to scratch the ice from the INSIDE of the window in order to see what sort of day it was outside.

We had no central heating, just a coal fire in the living room.

You are I are made of strong stuff. We know how to survive without central heating.

Like you, I’d be more than happy to live in the little thatched cottage like the one in your photos. love and hugs ~ Cobs. x

I remember those cold winters too and Jack Frosts beautiful patterns on the window panes. My late mum used to get up very early to light the coal fire so we could get dressed by the warmth of a fire before setting off to school. xBrigid

We didn’t realise that these were ‘hard times’, they were just life and how it was.
Memories, even these ones, are such beautiful things.
I remember that the promise of ‘an extra blanket on the bed’ meant my mums fur coat. I can remember feeling like a Princess when that happened. 🙂 Happy times. ~ love ~ Cobs. x

Just gorgeous Brigid. I really love the thatched cottage photo, simple structures are always so beautiful. I hope you are doing well. I had hoped to snap some nice beach photos myself, but a tropical storm ripped through Florida while we visited. We had one day at the beach, and of course…that was the day I decided to not bring my camera! Oh well…another time. I’m glad the sun came out for you. 🙂

Goodness. I hope you still had a lovely holiday. I have been doing a bit of re blogging to get some time out. I have a few scheduled posts written in advance now and shall take some time out in August as my sister will be visiting from Scotland. 😊

That sounds like fun! I’m sure you both have a lot of catching up to do. And I think I may reblog and item or two myself. 🙂

Yes, I still had a very enjoyable visit. The weather cleared up enough for us to go outside, but the tides were just too strong for a beach visit. We could technically visit the beach, but had to keep the kids out of the water. Try convincing an 8, 7, 4, and 3 year old of that. Perhaps the older two would be okay, but my sister in law and I were not going to fight that battle. So we chose to avoid all together. We were happy with the pool. It was a nice beach house with a courtyard across the street and daily concerts and movies. So plenty of other activities. And we also visited various locations in Georgia, the Georgia Aquarium and then the Fernbank Museum were both really nice as well. I highly recommend for anyone who visits the Atlanta, Georgia area.

Anyways, have a wonderful break Brigid! It’s nice to just stop and breathe in the world around us, as you well know. 🙂

Hi Brigid– how do you get to the islands?? Ferry?? Isn’t it nice to have a sister close by? Mine lived overseas for 6 years and just came back some months ago. I love having her close. This week we are baking a slew of cakes for a family baby shower together!! Hope we get to see more pictures of your adventures! xox

Hello Brigid,
What a lovely journey through the rugged coastline with you. It may have been too challenging for the ferry but your stunning captures paint a beautiful broody scene.
Glad you were able to visit a garden that means so much to you.
💕💕Di